Embark | h.s

Five

One month had passed by without a hitch. Celia kept her distance from Andrew, avoiding his lingering, poisonous gazes, and extended kindness toward Daniel. They served each other obediently; a silent friendship of two distant people based on regulations containing one simple rule: to remain loyal.

When he was not tending to his duties on the ship, Harry was busy preparing for his position in the settlement of Roanoke, Virginia. Wracking his brain day and night of what they would encounter when they arrived, he scribbled endlessly in a journal by candlelight while Celia slept soundly in their shared bed. Occasionally, she would pass by him quietly in the middle of the night to check on Nerissa, only a few words being exchanged between the two as she asked him to come to bed, to which he would reply, "In a moment." It was always a lie.

The wind whistled an unforgiving tune, foreshadowing the events of the hours that would follow. Clouds towered on top of each other in the sky, the white fluff morphing into a twisting grey that would soon darken to black.

Celia stood in the nursery, handing off Nerissa to the middle aged woman with greying hair. She cradled the whining baby in her arms and cooed comforting hums to her as she swayed. Celia stood by the door, her brows stitched together and entwined with worry.

"I will take good care of her, ma'am," the nursemaid said, sensing her uneasiness.

"I know that," Celia said. "I just have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, as if something terrible will happen."

"The sea does strange things to a person's mind."

Celia hummed before looking at her baby one last time. She smiled softly and exited the room, closing the wooden door behind her.

The nursery was just next to the captain's cabin. Celia walked over to the door that led to the cabin and rested her hand on the knob. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes scanning the boat briefly. Men gathered in groups as they stuffed their mouths with food, anxious to feed their tiring bodies after a hard days work in the spring sun.

The sun set, disappearing below the horizon and coating the sky in darkness. A gust of brisk wind tossed Celia's flaming hair across her face, followed by a crack of thunder. Her body flinched at the sound. The doorknob twisted beneath her hand, which she yanked back to her side involuntarily at the sudden movement, and the door flew open.

Harry stood in the threshold, emerald eyes wild with fear. He immediately tried to wipe the worry off of his face, but it was too late—Celia had seen it. She leaned forward, reaching for his hand. He took it, squeezing her trembling fingers.

"A storm," he said, voice low and monotonous.

Celia swallowed hard, her mouth going dry. The tales of storms at sea were ghastly, she knew what they entailed. "Nerissa—"

Harry dropped her hand. "Go to her." He stepped forward and Celia automatically moved sideways for him to pass by. She was frozen in her position, eyes glazed with fear, when she felt a large hand slip around her waist. "It will all be fine, my dear," he whispered into her ear. He placed a light kiss on her temple before leaving.

Celia inhaled sharply and turned on her heel, picking up the skirt of her gown as she headed toward the nursery. She pushed the door open to find the nursemaid sitting by the crib as Nerissa slept, working on some needlework.

She lifted her eyes to meet Celia. "Lady Styles, is everything okay?"

"No, Ana, it's not," Celia sighed. Thunder boomed once more, cueing the rain to plummet from the sky. Nerissa shrieked, startled by the noise. Celia rushed to the crib and lifted her baby, rocking back and forth to calm her down.

"The first storm of the voyage."

"Yes, and I fear this will be the night someone loses their life."

"Don't say such things, ma'am."

"Take the crib and bring it to my room. We will wait the storm out in there."

Ana nodded, following the orders of Celia as she led the way out of the nursery. As they headed for the cabin, rain pelting their bodies and soaking their clothes, a hand on Celia's elbow prevented their entry.

Celia whipped her head around to find Daniel clasping her arm with his blistered hand. "What are you doing?" she yelled over the chaotic shouts of the crew down below and the wailing of her freezing child.

"The cabin isn't secure up here," he said. "My chambers are below the weather deck, you'll be safer there."

Celia sent Ana a quick glance, just long enough to see the doubt in her aged eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked Daniel.

"I haven't given you reason to distrust me yet, Celia," he said, his voice comforting and sure.

She nodded hesitantly, knowing that he was right; he had done nothing but given her a helping hand since the day she arrived on the ship.

"Are you really going to trust him, ma'am?" Ana asked, gripping Celia's shoulder.

"Yes, and if you don't then you may remain in the nursery," she said sternly.

"I'll not leave the babe," Ana said, her eyes fixed on Nerissa.

Celia raised her eyes to Daniel and sent him a nod of approval.

"Follow me," he said.

Celia raised her skirt with one hand, lifting the heavy fabric over Nerissa to keep the frigid water droplets off of her. They followed in Daniel's quick-paced footsteps as he descended down the staircase to the weather deck. Men moved with rigor, blurring together as they obeyed the captain's commands.

Celia glanced to the ocean. Waves grew to monstrous sizes, towering higher and higher. The ship teetered under the swirling sea, causing many to lose their balance. Celia felt her center weakening. She latched onto Daniel's bicep and held it tight to regain strength. He steadied her with his strong hands and ushered her across the deck, passing by the working men and Harry.

His eyes grazed Celia as she held onto Daniel while they walked to another set of stairs that went below the weather deck. Harry narrowed his eyes but did not have time to think about what they were doing, as a crack of thunder boomed and caught his attention.

Celia uncovered Nerissa by dropping her skirt once they were under the deck and protected from the rain. The stench of body odor seeped through the closed doors that lined the dim hallway, engulfing Celia's nose and causing her to gag. She held her daughter close to her chest and continued down the hallway as droplets of rain fell from between the wooden planks above, hitting her forehead occasionally.

Daniel stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway and opened it, revealing a small room containing a bed, a table, some candles, and a Bible.

Ana set down the crib and removed the now-soaked blankets from it. She frowned as she held them up for Celia to see.

"Here," Daniel said as he stripped the bed of a sheet. He walked over to the crib and folded the dry sheet, placing it inside for Nerissa to sleep on.

Celia placed Nerissa in the crib, removing her damp clothes and replacing them with another sheet from the bed to keep her warm and dry. She relinquished a sigh of relief as she watched her baby slowly blink, growing sleepier by the second. Eventually, Nerissa drifted off into sleep.

Ana stayed by the crib while Celia and Daniel crept off to the kitchen to retrieve water and food. They moved in silence until they came upon the large room that was empty, save for two men; a cook and the doctor.

Andrew raised his brows and stood to his feet at the arrival of Celia. "Well, well, well," he said with a wicked grin. "What do we have here?"